Perceptions and biases of the international criminal justice system in handling sexual violence crimes

• In Event: Political and Social Discourses about Crime and Justice Panel 2

Abstract

The history of prosecution of the crimes of sexual violence at the international level is relatively recent, especially compared to other forms of international crimes. There are numerous reasons for this. At the normative level, there is still a lack of clear definition of sexual violence in international treaties and maladjustment of the traditional forms of liability for prosecution of this specific crime. At a more practical level, the obstacles stem from some policy considerations, sensitivity of the subject and gender biases of individual practitioners and the whole institutions. At the same time, while the international criminal justice system sets standards for the national criminal justice systems, the respective problems may be transplanted or replicated at the national level as well.

The paper will focus on systematic review of the existing theoretical and empirical literature with critique of the international criminal justice system in relation to its treatment of the sexual violence crimes. A special attention will be given to the International Criminal Court and some other international courts with relevant jurisdiction. The literature will be classified on the methodology and theoretical approaches applied, as well as the major findings with regard to the identified problems. Based on this review, the conclusions will be made on the current perceptions and biases of the international criminal justice system in relation to prosecution of sexual violence crimes and their potential negative effects on the national prosecutions.

The paper is intended to become a theoretical basis for the currently conducted sociolegal exploration of the interrelation between international and national criminal justice systems for prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence committed in the Russian war against Ukraine.

Author

• Iuliia Anosova, Ghent university